- Defender Gerard Piqué enjoyed a prolific spell with Lionel Messi at Barcelona
- The Spaniard was briefly a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Man United
- The English Euro 2004 team was incredible on paper, but they didn’t win. Will this crop be able to do it this summer? Listen to the everything is beginning podcast
Former Manchester United and Barcelona star Gerard Piqué has given his verdict on the GOAT debate between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The center back is one of the few players who shares the field as a teammate with Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the two best players of the modern era.
The Spaniard was briefly a teammate of the Portuguese international at Man United and enjoyed a prolific spell with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner at Barcelona.
When asked if the GOAT debate was over after Messi upstaged Cristiano Ronaldo by lifting the World Cup in Qatar, Piqué said John Nellis YouTube Channel: ‘Well, it’s true that the fight between the two of them in the last decade was quite impressive because they both did incredibly well.
“I think that in terms of talent, Messi is number one, without a doubt. It is true that Cristiano has worked very hard to try to compete and fight for that first place but if you look at both of their careers… I would choose Messi, for sure.
Defender Gerard Piqué (right) enjoyed a prolific spell with Lionel Messi at Barcelona
The Spaniard (right) was briefly a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United
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“He showed that despite being 35 years old he can compete as the best player in the world. He showed it in the World Cup.”
The accusations of a rift between Messi and Piqué due to the Argentine’s departure to PSG were another chapter in an ugly end to his love story with Barcelona.
Influential journalists, including the editor of Barcelona’s leading football newspaper Sport, suggested that while Messi had left some friends at the club, other relationships had broken down.
Lluis Mascaró said that Messi felt disappointed by Piqué and believed that Piqué had betrayed him by telling Barcelona president Joan Laporta that “it would be fine if Messi left.”
Asked if he had sent Messi a message to congratulate his former team-mate, Piqué said: “Erm… not really.” This is crazy but it’s true, I was disconnected from the World Cup. Since my retirement I needed to disconnect from sport, that’s why I didn’t watch any game apart from the final, not even the entire game.
‘I tried to disconnect, I went on vacation for a few days. My last months as a professional were hard and I really needed to disconnect from football.”
